It’s All About Balance: Looking at the Scoring Power of the Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers have largened their lead on the top of the Western Conference standings with yet another victory against the New Orleans Pelicans last Friday night.

This win also solidifies their lead as the best team in the whole league with an 11-3 record.

The Lakers have clearly been one of the best teams in the NBA so far, and it is largely due to their #1 rated defense in the league.

What has been most impressive has been their offensive power, and how much more spread out their scoring load is this season as they have six players who are currently averaging double figures.

Let’s take a look at these players who have been contributing on the offensive end for the Lakers.

LeBron James

Lebron is currently averaging a team-high 24.1 points per game, but this is his lowest in his career since his 20.9 ppg average in his rookie season. Lebron is still taking on the majority of the scoring load for the Purple & Gold, although not as much as he has seen in previous years. His scoring averages have been going down every season since he joined the Lakers in 2018, and that is largely due to the increasing contribution of his teammates.

Lebron is still the leader of the team, and he is still their go-to guy when it comes to scoring buckets. Don’t expect Lebron to give you 30 points each night as he did throughout his career, but expect him to get the ball and knock down clutch shots when he needs to.

Anthony Davis

The second all-star forward of the Lakers hasn’t been as impressive as fans might have expected to start the season. AD is currently averaging only 21.7 points per game, quite low for a player of his caliber. He averaged over 26 a game last season, leading the Lakers to the title in his first season in Los Angeles. Though he hasn’t been scoring as much, he’s been playing excellent defense, and the Lakers have been winning so there’s not much to complain about here.

AD is one of the most talented players in the league, and he can easily get a bucket when he wants to. He hasn’t been showing his scoring prowess as much yet, but as the season goes on, look for AD to look for his shot a lot more, especially when the team needs it the most.

Dennis Schröder

Embracing the starting point guard role, Schröder has been nothing short of spectacular since donning the Laker uniform. Being the main replacement for Rajon Rondo, he may not live up to the playmaking ability that the 2-time champion brought to the team, but Dennis can certainly make up for it in scoring ability. With 14.1 points per game average, Schröder is currently the 3rd leading scorer for the Lakers.

His ability to put the ball and the floor, create his own shot, and even knock down open threes to spread the floor has been something the Lakers have been relying on so far. In his first season with the Southern California team, Dennis Schröder has been making his case to be that third scorer for the Lakers after Lebron and AD. This is just the beginning of it as he can definitely continue improving as the season progresses.

Montrezl Harrell

The reigning Sixth Man of the Year has been coming into every game and bringing the energy that the Lakers need. Montrezl is averaging 13.8 points a game as he is making the most of his bench role with the Lakers. He has been doing what he does best, dominating the paint, getting boards, and scoring down low. He is the third Lakers player that is averaging double-digit points in the paint, after AD and Lebron.

He is the leading bench scorer of the team, and his ability to score and command the paint has been helping the Lakers big time. Harrell has been enjoying his first year on the other side of Staples Center, and hopefully, he will enjoy being an integral part of the team’s quest to get another NBA title.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

KCP was impressive during the Lakers championship run in 2020, which earned him a multi-year offseason deal. He really embraced his role, spreading the floor, knocking down jump shots, and playing lockdown defense on the opposing guards. He is currently averaging 10.7 points a game, and he is lights out from three, shooting 55.3% from deep.

He may have his ups and downs, but KCP is here to stay in LA, and his shooting ability will be heavily relied on as the season progresses. If he continues to shoot the way he is, the Lakers will have a good shot at another deep playoff run this season.

Kyle Kuzma

Since entering the league in 2017, Kuz has been one of the fan favorites, largely due to his ability to score. He has been averaging over 15 points per game in his 4 years in the league. Even though he is averaging a career-low 10.6 points per game this season, he has been helping the Lakers in multiple ways, getting rebounds and playing excellent defense.

Kuz has been a steady bench player, and most impressively, he is averaging a career-high 40% from three this season. Laker fans know how well Kuz can put the ball in the basket, and though he doesn’t need to score as much as he used to, he can always light it up when given the chance.

Some fans may not be satisfied with how some players are not achieving career highs in terms of scoring, but the good thing is with all of the firepowers that the Purple & Gold currently have on the roster, no one needs to carry a large load on the offensive end. With all of these different players who can put the ball in the basket, the opponent won’t know who to focus on and defend on a given night.